EOS R6 Mark II Images Lack Sharpness

[CarterS66]

I’ve had an R6 mark 2 for close to a month now and I struggle with image quality. I only have EF prime lenses and kit lenses, none of which cost more than $500. I use Lightroom to edit but I feel like my pictures lack sharpness and look like they were taken with a cheap camera. Does anyone have any tips to improve my photo quality? Obviously I could use better lenses but I’m only 16 and don’t have the budget for premium L lenses.

[MotoArts]

CarterS66, check out my post regarding my Rebel SL1. I've struggled with it for years but admittedly haven't dedicated any time to diagnose it until now 😊

[Tronhard]

Hi Carter and welcome to the forum:

There are several reasons that might cause a lack of sharpness.  For us to narrow down the possibilities it would help to know several things:

What lenses are you using with the R6II?
Are you using a Canon brand EF-RF adapter?
Can you post some samples of images that are causing you concern - being able to share links to original files would be helpful.  If not, then JPGs with details of the shot from your EXIF data: lens, focal length, aperture, shutter speed and ISO.
Are you shooting in RAW, JPG or both?

What sort of subjects are you shooting?
How do you hold your camera - with the camera to your eye, or holding it like a cellphone?

If you can please provide as much detail as possible for these questions, we can provide more specific help for you.

[CarterS66]

 

 

Hey trevor, sorry I didnt clarify much earlier, I most commonly use a sigma 30mm f/1.4 or a canon 75-300 f/4-5.6 (I know that lens may be my issue) with a canon brand ef-rf control ring adapter, I also usually shoot through the viewfinder unless i’m doing low angle or high angle shots. When it comes to subjects I’m shooting, I usually take pictures of landscapes or animals. I’ll attach some photos.

[johnrmoyer]

This photo does not have much blur. I see a halo from unsharp mask. I might reduce both the radius and amount for unsharp mask and maybe also increase the threshold, but that is a matter of preference.

Did you import a raw file or a JPEG into lightroom? If a JPEG, then one should likely not do unsharp mask both in camera and in lightroom. A second unsharp mask might be useful after resizing an image or before printing. If importing a raw file into lightroom, then use the radius, detail and masking sliders for sharpening in lightroom. https://helpx.adobe.com/lightroom-cc/how-to/sharpen-photos.html

 

[johnrmoyer · Accepted solution]

I hope some of this might be helpful.

Blur can result from focus, camera movement, subject movement, small aperture diffraction, and if made of  a distant scene then atmospheric distortion.

I do not use lightroom, but the Canon DPP software Digital Lens Optimizer will sometimes remove most diffraction blur. Unsharp mask with the fineness or radius setting at the size of the blur will often make an image appear sharper. It is also worth looking at using curves to adjust the image: https://cam.start.canon/en/S002/manual/html/UG-04_EditImage_0040.html

https://www.cambridgeincolour.com/tutorials/sharpness.htm Understanding sharpness

How unsharp mask works: https://www.cambridgeincolour.com/tutorials/unsharp-mask.htm

diffraction blur: https://www.cambridgeincolour.com/tutorials/diffraction-photography.htm

depth of field: https://www.cambridgeincolour.com/tutorials/depth-of-field.htm

noise: https://www.cambridgeincolour.com/tutorials/image-noise.htm

Large ISO numbers together with noise reduction will sometimes reduce detail making the image look less sharp.

Fast shutter speed will reduce motion blur.

Larger F number will result in more of the scene being in focus with the tradeoffs being diffraction blur and possibly more noise or possibly need for slower shutter.

Changes in auto focus settings in the camera will result in different portions of the image being blurred.